Deep-Sea Mining Pacific Ocean: US proposes seabed leases near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
The deep-sea mining pacific ocean debate is currently centred on a US proposal to lease large areas of seabed near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The proposal concerns exploration and possible future extraction, not confirmed commercial mining operations, and has already drawn opposition from Pacific territories.
US proposes seabed leases near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
The US Marine Mineral Administration has proposed auctioning leases covering 28 million hectares of seafloor near the Mariana Trench, off Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The leases would allow companies to explore for, and potentially extract, polymetallic nodules containing minerals used in batteries, electronics and defence technologies, according to The Guardian’s report on the US proposal.
The plan does not mean mining has started. The proposed leases relate to exploration and possible extraction, while the available reporting does not establish that commercial deep-sea mining is operating in the Pacific.
The Northern Mariana Islands’ governor, David Apatang, said his administration would examine the proposal over 60 days. The report said he called for scientific baseline studies, transparency and protections for marine resources before any activity takes place. Guam’s lieutenant governor, Joshua Tenorio, said the territory was unequivocally opposed to deep-sea mining in the region. The Guardian reported the positions of both Pacific US territories.
The Marianas proposal followed a separate US leasing process involving 12.4 million hectares of seafloor near American Samoa. Contracts for that area were planned for award in November, according to the same report. The available material does not establish whether those contracts have since been awarded.
Why polymetallic nodules are at the centre of the dispute
Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized mineral deposits found thousands of metres below the ocean surface. A harvesting vehicle would move across the seabed, collect the nodules and a layer of sediment, then pump the material to the surface for sorting, according to SBS News.
The deposits are associated with minerals regarded as important for batteries, electronics and other technologies. But the proposed extraction method would disturb the seabed and sediment. Environmental groups cited by The Guardian say more research is needed to understand the effects on marine ecosystems, while officials in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have warned against accepting poorly understood environmental risks.
The Pacific debate also has a strategic dimension. SBS News reported that the United States and China are competing for influence over potential critical-mineral resources in the region. It said China signed a 2025 agreement with the Cook Islands covering seabed mineral development and research, while a US executive order had enabled companies to apply for licences in US Pacific territories. Those claims describe a race over a possible industry; they do not establish that large-scale commercial extraction has begun.
The unresolved international-law question
A separate Guardian letter argues that the US seabed-leasing plan conflicts with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS. The letter says rules on environmental assessments and the sharing of economic benefits from deep-sea mining have not been completed by the International Seabed Authority.
That is a legal argument made by the letter’s author, rather than a settled finding established by the supplied reporting. The letter says the US has not ratified UNCLOS but has agreed to abide by its rules and procedures since 1982. The reports do not establish how the proposed leases will be treated under international law or whether the process will result in mining approvals.
For Pacific communities, the immediate issue is therefore the proposed leasing and exploration process. The Northern Mariana Islands is reviewing the terms, Guam has stated its opposition, and the US administration’s plans remain contested before any confirmed commercial Pacific mining operation.